This invention relates to cargo and/or load restraining devices for preventing the shifting of loads or cargo in pick-up trucks, vans or other vehicles and, more particularly, to a load restraining apparatus and kit for same which may be easily secured within the cargo area to efficiently support and prevent shifting of the loads or cargo.
A common problem with the carrying of freight or cargo in trucks such as pick-ups and vans is the shifting or movement of the load or cargo when driving, especially with less than a full load. In such cases, a single item or small numbers of items can shift from side-to-side or backwardly and forwardly and even bounce out of an open pick-up truck or van into the paths of other vehicles during sudden stops, starts or turns. Such loads can even slide forwardly against the back of the cab of a pick-up or driver's area of a van. The result is either damage to the cargo or injury to the driver or other passengers.
In the past, various devices have been proposed to prevent the shifting and movement of loads in trucks and other vehicles. Exemplary of these are the load bracing structures or cross bars for vehicles disclosed in Eck U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,420, Doherty et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,977,899 and Schmidt U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,200. Eck discloses telescoping safety bars in a truck extending between side supports and having internal springs forcing pins outwardly to engage the side supports. Doherty et al. and Schmidt disclose similar structures relying on outwardly biased telescoping pins for engaging side supports. Not only are the cross members in these structures subject to failure and release should the internal springs which force the pins outwardly break or weaken, but the structures exert significant force outwardly against the side supports and sides of the truck in order to retain the cross bars in place. Such force can be large especially when heavy cargo must be carried. Thus, the structures are unsuitable for many light duty applications and smaller pick-up trucks having sidewalls which are insufficient to support such forces.
Other prior structures such as those shown in Johnston U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,689 and Robertson U.S. Pat. No. 3,051,099 disclose cross bars supported by the weight of gravity on side supports. Should a large jolt or bump be encountered during driving, such cross bars could well be moved out of position and fail to properly secure loads against shifting and movement.
In yet other structures such as Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,578 and Rogers U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,854, both of which disclose load bracing assemblies relying wholly or in part on pressure exerted against the sides of a truck bed or the like, failure of the mechanisms to maintain the outward pressure against the truck sides will result in failure to retain the loads against movement. In addition, the structure of Rogers is supported on the floor of the truck bed well within the sides of the truck cargo area thereby limiting support area for cargo and wasting significant cargo hauling space.
In yet other prior structures such as the cargo loading and storage apparatus of the type shown in Tobin U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,662, vertical and horizontal columns and cross members are positioned in specific locations making adjustment extremely difficult and preventing easy accommodation of various size loads and cargo.
Yet other structures such as the freight loading apparatus in Nampa U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,929 require the attachment of both vertical and horizontal side supports within a cargo support area of a vehicle before cross supports can be secured to support cargo therein. Such apparatus is significantly more complicated to install but still does not provide the secure attachment of the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention was conceived in recognition of and as a solution for these and other problems evident from cargo hauling problems and the prior vehicular cargo restraining or bracing structures.